Traveling with the kiddos…

I think as parents we build up our nervous anticipation of traveling with kids. Usually, trips go more smoothly than we predict they will, and the (sometimes literal) gross disasters are fodder for years of family stories to come.

And what better way to educate our children than to travel? For it is through travel that we see new sights and sounds, eat new foods, experience new cultures, and push our comfort level. Our children learn to occupy themselves when bored, become comfortable with their own thoughts and imagination, and communicate with others in a whole new way.

Travel can be as simple as a road trip around your state. Each town has a unique personality to meet along the way. An airplane flight to a neighboring state to visit grandparents teaches children how to wait patiently, how to follow oral directions, how to read signs and posters, and how to find gate numbers. What better way to get hands-on learning?

Your children experience new people with all that people-watching: new mannerisms, new ways of dressing, and overhear conversations on novel topics. What could be a better “classroom” lesson for the day?

When schedules allow, it isn’t hard to get away for a weekend. I believe prioritizing your child’s education, as we all do, includes these rich experiences. Patience, flexibility, and fortitude are lessons taught remarkably well on the road. As parents, we can prepare our children for the journey ahead, knowing full well that hiccups will occur, but they often won’t be something we can’t handle.

Here are a few things to try on your next adventure:

Talk with your child about expectations and what the traveling will be like. Kids do well with a framework on which to map their experiences.

Allow extra time to pull them aside, out of the hustle and bustle, and explain what is happening next. Before you go through the security gate at an airport, for example, take them aside and kneel down, telling them what to expect in the next few moments.

Help them use their eyes and ears to observe the world around them. Give them a visual scavenger hunt (like “I Spy”) or pictures in their journal to find and draw. For an upcoming trip, I’m printing photos from the internet and sticking them inside journals. My daughters will be able to use the pictures to identify important landmarks and historical monuments. They can color or write their own ideas, too!

If your child has special needs, they will need some accommodations in your plans. But even our special kids need these experiences. Plan ahead and bring some fallback comfort items to keep them at ease. They will respond well to your energy level, so take a deep breath and meet them where they are at.

You can find all sorts of great suggestions on the internet for travel-specific tips and tricks for kids. Use what works for you, discard things that don’t. But by focusing on the actual travel as a learning experience, you can see the experience through your child’s eyes and focus your attention there.

Where will your next trip take you?Do you have a great kid-friendly travel experience to share? Leave a comment below and let us know how you did it!

*My family and I are heading on a road trip soon to visit a new baby niece. I’ll take my girls on a plane flight to visit grandparents for spring break, while my husband stays behind. Our girls have proven themselves good little travelers, other than the occasional baby explosion, so we’ll put them and their potty-trained backsides to the test on an international trip in late spring. I will let you know how it goes!

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*Let me just say this. I am not a big fan of lots of homework. I think it is redundant and unnecessary for many students, and for others can completely strangle their love of learning. I think there is a time and place for completing an assignment that couldn’t be completed during the day, or working extra on a long-term project. But I think our education system in general has gone the wrong way with homework. Struggling students can spend three hours a day in early elementary school tackling their homework, and their systems are already fatigued from a full day of school. It is not unusual for the middle school students I work with to spend five hours in the evening completing homework.

That being said, I encourage parents to help their children find a balance. Encourage quality over quantity, and keep in close communication with teachers to determine what is necessary for your child. Good teachers understand this balance, and while they can’t change what’s required on state testing, they are usually very willing to work with a student on a bit of balance.

After a long school day, it can be difficult for children to sit down and tackle their homework. Make sure they have eaten a snack and exercised outside, and then use an analogue clock or a Time Timer to allow for short bursts of homework activity. For early elementary students, try 10-20 minute work sessions; for older students, try 20-30 minute work sessions. (I always recommend analogue clocks rather than digital clocks to help your student understand the passing of time, rather than just a single moment in time.) The Time Timer is helpful because it shows a countdown of time in bold red, so even preschool students are aware of time passing.

Is your child having trouble sitting in one place for homework? Make sure they have exercised after coming home. Then, try a wiggle cushion on their seat, let them stand at the kitchen counter, or sit on an exercise ball. After holding it together all day at school, their little systems may be fatigued, and sitting still in one place too challenging.

Decide what the goal of the assignment is. Posture and core strength are necessary for good handwriting. If the focus of the assignment is good handwriting, make sure both feet are solidly on the floor, they are sitting upright, and using their non-dominant hand to hold their paper in place.

If the focus of the assignment is language, ideas, creativity, allow for some body wiggling and poorer handwriting. Many of my students stand, rock back and forth, and use a wiggle cushion for tactile and vestibular feedback. I can tell they are focused and attentive when their body is moving and they are helping to regulate their engagement. As we analyze the task, brainstorm and organize ideas, and get a preliminary essay completed, the focus is on their language and the ideas they are generating. We can go back later and clean up the handwriting during the editing phase of the writing process.

Homework taps into the executive function skills your child is developing. For a child who has worked hard holding it together all day at school, this can be a very challenging process. Focus on completing a few tasks well and enjoy the time you spend with your child. Allow them to share their work with pride, and encourage them as they progress.

What are some homework tips that have worked with your child? Please share.

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This post is part of the Blue Bike Blog Tour, which I’m thrilled to be part of. To learn more and join us, head here.

The new year ushered in a new chapter for our family as my husband and I sat down to reevaluate our priorities and solidify our family purpose statement. We’ve aspired to live more simply, more intentionally, with greater balance in our lives, something that is equal parts intuitive and challenging with young children. The art of communicating with our children, my passion and study, flourishes with intentionality, and learning expands with simple, purposeful moments. It is these moments that we strive to cultivate, to water and fertilize as our children grow.

But where to start when the garden seems overrun with demands? Work schedules, information overload, and personal expectations and perfectionism all cling like weeds to our lofty goals, and at times I feel paralyzed to even make change.

And so it was fitting that on the heels of the start of the new year came the release of a book “Notes From a Blue Bike”, by one of my favorite authors. Tsh Oxenreider lives with her family in nearby Bend, and her reflections on living a life with intentionality echoed within our family’s discussions of the new year…how to cultivate that life that you seek… how to swim upstream and at times turn your back on mainstream culture… how to recognize that just because it’s “the way it is” doesn’t mean it’s the right way for your family.

“Almost everybody in my life stage – parents with kids at home – craves a slower life. They, too, crave a more meaningful life, a life that made margin for doing nothing, for not bowing down to calendars, for saying yes to long walks with their kids and cooking seasonally from scratch because there was time.” –Tsh Oxenreider

And so, it was with these thoughts in our mind that my husband and I stared around our little 1500-square-foot house and considered downsizing (!) in pursuit of the right job opportunity. It was with this intentional living mantra that I clicked the “reservations” button on the American Airlines website, to send us and our two young daughters on an international trip, where we hope to dine, hike, and sleep under the stars of another culture. It was with Tsh’s words clanking around in my head as the gears turned and I reduced my work load to a more manageable schedule. Who knows what other changes lie in the works for 2014?

I would love to hear how you are choosing to live with intention this year. What is one change that you are making for the better? Leave a comment below, and head to http://notesfromabluebike.com/to find Tsh’s book.

Notes From a Blue Bike is written by Tsh Oxenreider, founder and main voice of The Art of Simple. It doesn’t always feel like it, but we DO have the freedom to creatively change the everyday little things in our lives so that our path better aligns with our values and passions. Grab your copy here.

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We all experience fatigue in this job they call “parenting”.

One moment I can feel on my game, the house is tidy (ish) and the kids are happy, playing, and learning as they go. The next moment I round the corner into the kitchen and find the dog licking spilled juice off the floor, while one child pleadingly calls to me from the bathroom to help her wipe her bottom. At times it can feel overwhelming. I was entrusted with these little humans?To raise, to teach, to keep safe in this world. Me? How can I manage?

Interestingly, I sometimes feel the same way at my job. I’ve been entrusted with helping this child? The one who struggles to learn? The one who has such a thin line of perseverance that the slightest misstep can push them into dysregulation and a full meltdown? The one who has been written off by his teachers, or labeled and filed away by a relative? And yet we do it, day after day, week after week. We parent, we teach. Because it does make a difference. It does matter.

There are a few strategies I’ve learned to help me with those days when I am feeling especially weary. The days when I wonder if I have it in me. By focusing on a few things, I can move an otherwise overwhelming interaction into a positive one.

Let your face light up when your child walks into the room. The first thing they see when they round that corner should be you, glad to see them, happy to have them here. It can be a mood changer.

Still your hands, kneel down to eye level, and give your child your calm focus and attention. If there is one thing I recommend to parents, it’s to kneel down in front of their child when they talk to them. It does wonders.

Listen. Really listen. Hear your child from where they are.

Give a mental break. Teach your children how to have quiet time. Reinforce the idea of alone time with your child, where they can explore their own thoughts. It might be five minutes at first, but build that resilience. After lunch is usually a good time, and can give a much-needed pause to the busy day.

When you come back together, center yourself on them. Snuggle time for the fussy toddler. Words and eye contact for the preschooler. Use yourself as their calm center for the afternoon.

Think of what their bodies need. If the mood is sour, head outside. No matter the weather, bundle up for a walk and go. The fresh air and activity will be a game changer.

If you’re staying in for the afternoon,feed their bodies. Ride bikes in the garage, build forts by the couch, do sensory and physical play. Put on some music and dance.

Meet your child where they’re at, setting aside your adult pace to take in the world at their level. By doing this, you are communicating at their developmental level, building language, problem-solving, and fostering exploration. Kneel down and look into their eyes: the ones that reflect your image and that reveal their heart. Kneel down.

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One of the most frequent questions I’m asked by other parents is when to get help for their child’s articulation problems. Before I touch on that, I wanted to make sure I separate “speech” and “language” in your mind. A child who is having difficulty with language is often having trouble using or understanding words like their peers (2-word combinations by age 2, picking up correct grammar, following directions, understanding or retelling stories, etc.)

A child with speech sound difficulties (“articulation”) is having trouble pronouncing speech sounds (saying sounds like “th” correctly, sequencing sounds together, moving their tongue/lips/mouth precisely enough to be understood). There are numerous causes for these speech difficulties, and the severity also dictates the course of action. But, some general rules for seeking out help:

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The early morning silence before the house starts stirring is for my soul alone. I try to wake up a few moments before the rest of the creatures in this house start stirring, but with a noisy dog and an early-waking husband (who passed his early-waking genes to our daughters), it is often difficult to do. I silently slide out of bed, head for the coffee pot, and listen as the creak of my bones on the stairs tell me I’m getting older.

But to have a moment of reflection. Ah, now that’s how I center. The whirlwind of energy that young children bring, the chaos of fun-filled days, the demands of life… it all pauses for a moment with that first sip of coffee. I can read a blog, journal a bit, or reflect on God’s purpose in my life.

Even now, sweating in the humidity around me, my now-empty coffee mug beckoning for its second refill, I have my moment.

Just ten minutes. It makes me a better mom, a better wife, a better person. Into the stillness I breathe “me”, and with that I am ready for the day.

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Schools are starting this week in Oregon. Back to school can bring a mix of emotions for parents and for kids.

Whether your child is taking the bus or getting dropped off at school, the first day can break a parent’s heart. May you find time to share a warm cup of coffee with a friend, a glass of wine tonight with your spouse, or a moment alone to marvel at a baby picture and appreciate the gift you’ve given the world.

Time goes quickly on this crazy journey of parenthood. The bond you have forged with your child makes them stronger, more daring, and more courageous as they step through that door. You’ve done a good job. Savor that hug at the end of the day when they come back through the front door.